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April 3, 2012Selling What You Cook at Home by Eli Zigas, Food Systems and Urban Agriculture Program ManagerLet’s say you’ve got a great jam recipe. Or perhaps you make some mean pickles. Your friends keep telling you that you should quit your day job and follow your culinary passion. But unless you’ve got quite a bit of savings or other access to capital, following your friends’ advice is a pricey proposition.That’s because in California, you can’t sell any food prepared in a home kitchen. And access to a licensed commercial kitchen costs money...
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April 2, 2012SPUR Announces June 2012 Ballot Positions By Corey Marshall, Good Government Policy Director This June’s primary election will bear little resemblance to the contentious ballot San Franciscans considered last November. Gone are the competing pension reform measures, sales taxes and bonds. We’re left with two measures, both placed on the ballot by voter petition.While the June slate may be lean, voters should take the time to fully research the measures on the ballot this spring. They’re important not just to how the city operates but also to how we choose to fund city...
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March 22, 2012SPUR Honors Ed Harrington with Life Achievement Award SPUR’s 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. This year, SPUR honored Ed Harrington with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his service to the City and County of San Francisco, including unparalleled fiscal leadership and managerial excellence through five mayoral administrations. Harrington currently serves as the general manager of...
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March 22, 2012Good Government Awards: How Harlan Kelly Led the Next Generation of SF Utilities SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. Harlan L. Kelly, Jr. was honored for his outstanding leadership in the delivery and implementation of the SF Public Utilities Commission’s 10-year capital improvement program for water, sewer and power, and his specific innovation on the Construction Management Information System (CMIS...
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March 22, 2012Good Government Awards: How SF’s Tax Automation Team Took the City Paperless SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. The Municipal Tax Automation Team — Darrell Ascano, Tajel Shah and Rebecca Villareal-Mayer — was honored for its outstanding teamwork and achievement in upgrading the technology used to collect and process the majority of the city’s General Fund revenue. By choosing an...
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March 22, 2012Good Government Awards: How Jocelyn Quintos Modernized Public Works SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. Jocelyn Quintos was honored for her outstanding leadership and management of the Department of Public Work’s accounting operations. Her diligence and dedication in working across many city departments led, in a mere six months, to the automation of the department’s Contract...
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March 22, 2012Good Government Awards: How Steven Castille Made SF Parks World Class SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country. Steven Castile was honored for his commitment to preserving public access to parks while ensuring environmental sustainability of parkland, managing the city’s agronomical practices for five golf courses, three stadiums (including Candlestick and Kezar Stadiums) and 220 parks. His...
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March 22, 2012Good Government Awards: How SFpark Revolutionized Parking, for Everyone SPUR's 32nd annual Good Government Awards, held March 19, honored City of San Francisco employees who have performed exceptionally, becoming models for other agencies and cities around the country.The SFpark Pilot Program team — Jay Primus, George Reynolds, Steven Lee and Lorraine Fuqua — was honored for its implementation of its groundbreaking smart parking management program. SFpark is the most progressive parking management program in the United States; using sensors to...
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March 19, 2012Lean, Mean Ballot for San Francisco This June by Corey Marshall, Good Government Policy Director As the rest of the country eagerly watches the Republican presidential primary drama unfold, San Francisco prepares for a comparatively uneventful June election. Five proposed initiatives have dropped off the ballot, leaving the city to consider just two measures this election. Prop. A would change the competitive procurement and franchising for solid waste disposal in the city. Passage would end Recology’s regulated monopoly, and could put the city’s goal of zero waste by 2020 in...
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March 15, 2012SPUR San Jose Launch Party: The Night in PicturesOn Thursday, March 8, the San Pedro Square Market filled with supporters of the new SPUR San Jose office, which opened in January. The 500 urbanists who joined us received a thundering welcome from San Jose Taiko, an award-winning traditional drumming group based in San Jose’s Japantown.The energy in the room continued to build as Leah Toeniskoetter, director of SPUR San Jose, asked the crowd what they love about their city. “Cities are the incubators of creativity in art,...
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